MRI
The Siemens MAGNETOM Prismafit MRI scanner at the DNI features the most powerful gradient system currently available in any commercial 3T MRI scanner. It allows for simultaneous 80mT/m @ 200T/m/s along each of the three gradient directions. This gradient system makes the Prisma an ideal MRI scanner for research aimed to resolve the fine details of anatomical and functional connectivity in the human brain. The scanner has a 60 cm bore diameter and exceptional magnetic homogeneity (measured homogeneity within the 40 cm diameter spherical volume is 0.103 ppm). The Prisma scanner at DNI is configured with 64 parallel RF receiver channels and supports up to 204 coil elements. The Prisma scanner has a high-performance, high-SNR, digital-in-digital-out solid-state RF system, which is capable of duel-channel parallel transmit and slice-accelerated (“multi-band”) acquisition.
EEG
A dedicated EEG suite equipped with a sound booth can be used to perform off-line EEG / ERP recordings. The EEG suite is equipped with a Neuroscan 64-channel EEG system, an LCD monitor for presenting visual stimuli, an audio system, and a behavioral response box that also serves as a time base for all the ancillary instruments in the EEG suite.
Ancillary Equipment
The MR suite at the DNI is equipped with a set of MRI compatible instruments and devices for conducting functional neuroimaging experiments. These include:
- Christie DLV 1280-DX, 3-chip DLP projector with a native gamma of 1.0
- Eyelink 1000 eye tracking system
- Various fiber-optic behavioral response devices
- MRI and eye-tracking compatible prescription eyeglasses
- High-fidelity audio system driving the Sensimetrics S14 earbuds, achieving a flat frequency response function between 200-8000 Hz
- OptoAcoustics active noise cancellation system
- Biopac multi-channel physiological data acquisition system
Mock scanner
A testing room equipped with a mock MRI scanner can be used to familiarize research participants with the MRI scanning environment or to collect baseline performance and physiological data with a participant lying supine. The mock scanner has the same bore size and length as the Prisma scanner and is equipped with an audiovisual stimulus presentation system and a surround sound system that mimics the scanner noise environment.
